Portugal put one foot in quarter-finals despite 0-0 draw with Scotland

GLASGOW – Portugal all but sealed a berth in the Nations League quarter-finals with a 0-0 draw away to Scotland on Oct 15, the first points Roberto Martinez’s side have dropped in their four games, after “lacking freshness in the final third”.

The Portuguese remain top of Group A1 with 10 points, three ahead of Croatia, who drew 3-3 away to Poland, while the Scots are bottom on one point. The third-placed Poles have four points with the top two in the group moving into the last eight.

Martinez said his men were missing “a bit of magic in the area”.

“We had a lot of desire, we worked very well without the ball,” the Spanish coach told Sport TV.

“It was a dangerous game because... Scotland needed very little to score a goal. We showed freshness, but we lacked freshness in the final third.”

Portugal were on the front foot for most of the night but squandered chances, including a sitter early in the second half for Cristiano Ronaldo, who had scored in their previous three games. Unmarked in the box, he put a diving header over the bar.

The 39-year-old Ronaldo earned another ironic cheer from Scotland’s Tartan Army when he sent a bicycle kick wide.

Asked if Portugal lacked a Plan B, Martinez said: “Our talent, our players, is Plan A, B, C, D, E.

“We have players on the inside, on the outside, we’re talking about a team that didn’t take risks, that defended very well. We’re talking about a team (Portugal) that got into the final third 53 times. We have to give credit to Scotland and to ourselves for managing to keep a clean sheet.”

The hosts also had chances, with Scott McTominay narrowly missing with a header before the game was five minutes old.

Ben Doak laid the ball back to Andy Robertson and the captain found the unmarked McTominay with a pinpoint cross, but the midfielder headed it straight at goalkeeper Diogo Costa.

Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon made a handful of terrific saves in the dying minutes against a swarming Portugal side.

The Hampden Park crowd erupted when Gordon dived to block a shot from Bruno Fernandes and then smothered the ball before Ronaldo could get there for the rebound.

Right-back Nicky Devlin, 30, came on for his Scotland debut in the 88th minute and was pressed into action moments later when he made a brilliant block to deny Rafael Leao.

Said Leao: “We created a lot of chances to score, but we weren’t effective in front of goal.”

Ronaldo was irate at the final whistle when he was denied the chance to take a corner with the clock having ticked past four added minutes. He ranted to the referee and gave the home fans a double thumbs down before storming off the pitch.

Said Bernardo Silva: “We’re still in a privileged position to qualify in first place. But, of course, we leave here tonight with some frustration.”

At least a draw at home to Poland on Nov 15 would guarantee Portugal a place in the knockout round before they visit Croatia three days later in their final group game.

While a point snapped Scotland’s four-game losing run, they have gone 10 games without a victory in competitive matches.

“It’s not about turning a corner. It’s just about working hard and not letting the country down. You could see that tonight,” said Scotland manager Steve Clarke.

In the third tier, Northern Ireland went top of Group C3 with a 5-0 win over Bulgaria in Belfast as Isaac Price of Standard Liege, 21, became his country’s youngest ever hat-trick scorer and their first player to score three goals in a game since David Healy in 2007.

Belarus and Luxembourg drew 1-1 in the same group, while there were wins for Romania and Kosovo against Lithuania and Cyprus respectively in Group C2. REUTERS, AFP